Are solar panels amazing or a con?

[PettsWoodParadise]

DH thinks they are a con. He doesn’t think the 25 year insurance is worth the digital paper it is written on. He thinks it will devalue the house as you can’t do a loft conversion once they are on. He also thinks the panels stop working full after ten years and degrade by year 7. I pay the bills and we are likely to be here for another 15 years when DD may take over the house and we’ve somewhere smaller so it is a ping term proposition.

I have had three quotes. £7k difference between lowest and highest. There are differences in battery size, equalisers, bird preventers, switches for the hot water tank etc. I live in the south east so get more sunshine than Scotland. All estimates have come back that ROI would be after 7 years which doesn’t sound bad if they will work for the full 25 as ‘guaranteed’.

When I ask questions I get different answers. One said it would give me energy security, another said they’d stop working in a power cut due to safety. One said I didn’t have to have a smart meter, another said I did even if I didn’t want to get money back from grid. One said the battery was mine to use as I wish, another said a power provider could drain my battery if they wanted. One said if the panel stopped working at 90% I could get a replacement, another said any percentage (5% of capacity for example) meant it was working and no refund under insurance.

I am disappointed at the differing information and when I press for hard answers aren’t getting any.

Can you recommend good solar panel companies or tell me about your solar experience (good or bad)? Thank you. I am talking about an average £15k investment here and gradually losing the will to talk to the companies more as I don’t know what to believe.

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Updated by MNHQ
Landed on this page in search of solar panel advice? Find our guide to installing solar panels in your home in the UK. HTH!

I work with a lot of Electrical/Electronic Engineers who have relatively recently fit solar panels. They are also researchers so they are obsessed with the efficiency or otherwise of their systems. So far there is a lot of positivity about them. Time will tell. I’m waiting a few years to gather more reliable data from them.

Some good answers here. I used to work in solar.

I wanted to quickly answer the point about companies draining batteries. There are a few companies that offer a service that they manage your battery for you- this is so they can help the grid balance, sometimes that is taking power from batteries and putting it back in the grid. HOWEVER, you definitely need to sign up to this and understand it. They can just do it whenever they want. Plus you can always sign up later- usual through an electricity supplier.

Some very good advice above

i won’t pretend to understand the Geekery- my dh does though and is properly obsessed!

had ours since October and right now with the sunny period we are not far off self sufficient and our bill last month was I think £28 for a five bed house. Bur that includes charging 1 Ev.

we use octopus go and have a 13 kw battery. When it’s not sunny we rely on the octopus go cheap rate at night to run dishwasher, washing machine and charge car. Right now though the sun is charging it instead so we’re doing it all when we please.

we get pittence for sending it back to the grid so once the battery is full it’s time to put a washing load on or plug in the car

as long as you’re staying put for decade or so it’s totally worthwhile IMO

as PP mentioned another thing to look at is investing in ripple. They are looking for investors for a solar farm now(likely to fill
up soon). Once built you’ll get a hefty discount off your bill. We invested in their previous project which is a wind
farm, hopefully online later this year

We are really pleased with our solar. Fortunately we had an outbuilding big enough for 6 panels either side of the roof. We also went for 2 batteries. The VAT relief convinced us to take the plunge and the company is managed by a cousin of mine so we got slightly more of a discount which helped.
They are really lovely as a company, if I say so myself.
We sell excess via Octopus but it not going to make us a fortune !!
https://www.power-aid.org/
This is the company.
Sometimes, after power cuts we have to check if the switch to our out house has tripped as we have on occasions not noticed this until DH had spotted on his app that solar not producing.
We tend to leave our emersion heater on all the time . I know there is a gismo that turns it on whenever there is adequate solar but we don't yet have that.
You have to get used to putting laundry and dishwasher on during day and not night. Takes a bit of planning to make most of it.
We reckoned we will pay the cost off within about 8 years.

Amazing, not a con at all.
We have panels hooked up to a battery. On a sunny day the battery is fully charged then it heats up our hot water tank and then electricity is used or sent to the grid. Many days of solar powered free electricity.

ps re the loft conversion thing in most circs panels will add to the value of your house not decrease, esp in the future. If a future buyer really didn’t like them then not hard to just take them off and you could just reinstall on top of the loft conversion!

We paid £11k last November for 16 panels and 6kwh of battery storage.

winter months: definitely got benefit from battery storage, with some benefit from solar. We have an electric car.

April: on Octopus new flux tariff, we ended up them paying us £5 as negative electricity charge.

we expected payback of at least 10 years, I think it’s going to be more like 7-8.

all companies that quoted for us had different suggestions for storage and placement of panels.

agree with above comment that it will turn you properly nerdy monitoring the data and battery usage!

we use octopus go and have a 13 kw battery. When it’s not sunny we rely on the octopus go cheap rate at night to run dishwasher, washing machine and charge car. Right now though the sun is charging it instead so we’re doing it all when we please.

meant to add we also charge our battery using cheap rate octopus go in winter too. But the sun is currently mostly charging it. So we have low bills in winter and low bills in summer but for different reasons. Using up electricity from the grid in the night in winter is also environmentally friendly as currently taken from 98% renewable sources

Ultimately, the decision will depend on your priorities and financial situation, but solar panels can be a wise investment for both the environment and long-term energy savings.

Your concerns about insurance, devaluation, and panel longevity are valid, and it's good that you're considering the long-term perspective. It's worth noting that solar panel technology has come a long way, and many systems come with extended warranties and guarantees.
The substantial difference in quotes reflects the various options available, but it's encouraging that all estimates suggest a return on investment within seven years. If you're in the South East and get ample sunshine, it's a promising proposition.
To make an informed choice and potentially save money, you can explore resources like SolarSmart which can provide insights into the latest solar technology and options for your specific region.

The problem is with solar, a bit like heat pumps, is unless you are willing to do a reasonable amount of homework you have to put your faith in the installers. That they will sell you the most appropriate system for your needs at a good price.

Unfortunately there are a lot of installers out there who are cowboys (this pretty much goes for anything these days). So you are taking a big risk that they will sell you a system appropriate for your needs if you outsource the thinking completely to them.

Other people have pointed out resources on line where you can learn more about solar.

I think it's so important to do your research into them, the variations, the cost and how suitable they are for your particular home. I've been read a lot of articles and expert guides and found the indy explains everything I needed to know https://www.independent.co.uk/home-improvement/solar-panel-guide-prices-cost-energy-b2701766.html